The High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday heard how Sibusiso Phumlani Ngidi, 34, and Khanyisile Khusi, 46, killed Mxolisi Langazana, 17, in May 2017.

Both accused and the victim lived in Nkothaneni, near Margate, and knew each other.

In their plea statements, Ngidi said he was a traditional healer and that Khusi was his assistant. Ngidi said another healer told him that he should kill a person if he wanted to increase his healing powers.

On the day of the murder, Langazana had come for a consultation. He drank heavily with Ngidi and Khusi.

“They then strangled him and chopped off his head. They buried his body and dug it up a few months later to dismember it,” NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara said.